Hebron: The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has raised alarm over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Khirbet Umm al-Kheir and the broader Masafer Yatta area, south of Hebron, where escalating colonist violence and demolition orders threaten the imminent forced displacement of hundreds of Palestinian Bedouin families. Roland Friedrich, UNRWA Director in the West Bank, highlighted the ongoing struggles faced by Palestinian refugees in Khirbet Umm al-Kheir, which is adjacent to the illegal Karmei’el colony. These communities have faced harassment, violence, and home demolitions that have severely impacted their traditional way of life.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA, Friedrich noted that tensions have escalated recently, with armed colonists frequently entering the community, vandalizing property, and attempting to expand the settlement’s fencing onto Umm al-Kheir’s lands. This situation poses a significant threat to approximately 1,200 people, including 500 children, in the Palestinian communities of Firing Zone 918, adjacent to Masafer Yatta.
The UNRWA Director emphasized that the situation in these remote Bedouin and herding communities, such as Umm al-Kheir and the villages of Masafer Yatta, is part of a broader pattern of land appropriation in Area C, increased colonist violence, and a lack of accountability. Friedrich stressed that Israel, as the occupying power, has the responsibility to protect these Palestinian communities and ensure that the perpetrators of violence are held accountable.
Friedrich urged for an immediate cessation of property demolitions and forcible displacement and called for the protection of the basic human rights of the Bedouin communities who have resided on these lands for generations.
